Popularity: Blessing or Curse?
by ShiningFingah
Summary: Neku really didn't want it to happen... it happened though. Now he has to face the music. Now or never, right?  NekuxErixHarem? You guys decide.
1. Chapter 1

Neku Sakuraba had gone through a lot in his life.

He'd died, fought for his life against reapers and creatures known as noise for three weeks, been betrayed and then murdered again by someone he trusted in a twisted game in the afterlife (if you could call it that.)

Having one through all of this, Neku felt like he was ready to face the world. That's why he was erm... Confused with his current situation.

It seemed all the shopkeepers (including the male ones) remembered him. He vaguely remembered almost being led into the changing room more than a few times by an over eager, disturbingly enough, male clerk. He said that he was going to "help" him change. Neku, understandably uncomfortable, bolted when given the chance.

It was also discomforting to walk in a sunshine restaurant. More than once, the storekeeper had given her number to him. On napkins written with ketchup, scribbled on the side of his drink, you name it, she'd done it.

At Natural Puppy it was a bit more manageable. Why he was there... Well he was "brave" enough as Shiki had put it, to wear the threads from the particular store. Didn't mean he wore them. Neku would discreetly leave whatever Shiki and annoyingly enough, Joshua sometimes, behind at the scramble, claiming to have gotten tangled up with someone.

But getting back on topic. Natural Puppy, was one of the safest, if not the safest, store to linger around. It was a bit unnerving, though at times cause Neku swore he could feel someone staring at him.

Lapin Angelique was a shop he never thought he'd frequent, but due to the circumstances of the Reaper's Game, he had to enter there more than once to acquire various stat raising clothes. And for whatever reason, Shiki had forced him to try everything they bought. EVERY single one. It wasn't long before Princess K mistook him for a cosplay fanatic himself. She couldn't blame her because he had entered the shop in a vampire suit and a bondage coat more than once.

At one point she even invited him to a convention. She insisted he wear butler's uniform to compliment her maid one. Neku, not really a social being, politely turned down the offer.

Don't even get him started on Dragon Couture. At first he wasn't really fond of the person running the place. It was obvious that she thought he was only a kid. Even when she'd greet them goodbye, he could hear her mutter something about parents and how they shouldn't let their children in stores. When she did show an ounce of respect, it was to Joshua and Joshua alone. Probably because he was alway impeccably dressed. Stupid prissy boy.

After he had retired his old wallet, and replaced it with a fat cat wallet, he was able to store more money, and thus buy more.

She seemed utterly shocked when he had purchased a watch that had cost over 4 million yen. He secretly felt good wiping that holier-than-thou look off her face.

As the days in the Game increased, so did his money. Neku found himself with an excess of money in the wallet, and quite a lot of yen pins yet to be cashed in. The quickest solution to his dilemma was to go on a shopping spree. Where, however, was the problem. It hit him that Dragon Couture sold some insanely expensive stuff second only to Pegaso, probably.

Neku, wanting to rid himself of something he thought he would never get enough of, had blown all his money on the selection of items in Dragon Couture.

The more things he bought, the more the time he spent actually inside the store increased. And with that came the clerk's affection.

How it happened, Neku did not know. He believed it had something to do with how he had complimented her every once in a while.

She of course did not show any obvious signs of embarrassment at first. But after he'd leave the shop he'd spy her with a light blush on her cheeks before she'd shake it off and huff in frustration.

Neku started visiting the establishment less and less as her advances suddenly become much more bold. Whispering in his ear, and massaging his leg to name a few.

Just as he thought leaving that particular shop was a good idea, he was hit yet again with his previous problem. His money was starting to build up once more.

Fortunately for Neku, he had found a humble shack which sold all kinds of herbs and mushrooms. Some things in there, he really didn't know what they were. Mystery Liquid for example. Who on earth would drink something that mysterious sounding? (well, Beat had, but judging by the frequent hacking and pale green complexion afterwards, Neku surmised that it had not been pleasant and wasn't meant to be drunk on it's own in the first place.)

The herb shop owner, had at first looked down upon him for his lack of knowledge on what he was buying. Neku couldn't blame him. He really didn't know what the hell a viper drink was supposed to do at first. But through repeated use, he discovered that it somehow helped condition his body. Now he had abs-rolls of steel- to poke all day.

As his knowledge on various plants and herbs grew, so did the affectionately nicknamed "Oji-chan's"' respect for him grow. They'd sit down with each other in the backroom for varying periods of time, discussing the country's current issues. Neku enjoyed hearing his opinions on them and how he thought they should be resolved.

Many a time had Neku been invited to meet Oji-chan's grandson, Shuto. Neku already met him, and quite frankly didn't want to have anything to do with him. But saying that would be rude, s he always gave the same excuse of "I have errands" to appease the elderly man. He was getting suspicious though. So Neku stopped visiting the shop altogether. At least, until he finished the game.

D+B was okay. Apart from the clerk's increasingly indent attire, all was fine. Except when she had "accidentally" tripped on top of him and just so happened to have also pinned him on the floor. Suffice to say, Neku didn't enter that store for awhile.

Tiger Punks was okay, surprisingly. He was always given free concert tickets to various heavy metal bands. He didn't know what to do with them though, so he just crammed them in the blackhole known as his pockets.

Jupiter of the Monkey was another pleasant and safe place to hang around in. Neku was at first more than a little annoyed by the clerk's gratuitous engrish. Especially the slang. After a while, to his surprise the store clerk warmed up to him and started to speak straight Japanese with him. He said he spoke English to drive customers away. He explained that it made him sound incompetent and unapproachable, thus giving him less work. During the three weeks of the game, the two spent a lot of time together. Neku deemed the shop safe enough to go to.

Cosmic Corner was a strange one. The store handler was rude and conceding towards Neku and co. at first. Like all the others though, he slowly became more welcoming to Neku. Just Neku since he was after all the only one who visited consistently throughout the three weeks. By the third week, he had invited Neku to see his private collection of knick knacks and junk. At that time Neku was a little more friendly than he had been at the start of the game so he had accepted the offer. To his surprise, he enjoyed it. Each of the eccentric man's things were shown to him. Things ranging decade old bubble gum wrappers, to collector's edition movie props were shown to him. Though he wouldn't say it out loud, Neku found the strange man's company pleasant.

The ramen shop owned by Ken Doi was Neku's favorite place to hang out. Second only to Mr. Hanekoma's coffee shop, cause that shop's pancakes were exquisite. Quite frankly, Neku had an unhealthy obsession with Shio Ramen, actually ramen in general. He enjoyed the salty taste of the soup, and the soft texture of the noodles. It seemed all of Neku's former partners couldn't relate with his live for the soup, Joshua being the only exception. Shiki( Neku, you'll get fat!), and Beat(Yo Yo phones, you still hungry man?) though didn't understand him.

At least Joshua understood him. (The noodle's textures are just from..blah blah)

Shadow Ramen. F that shop. And no F didn't mean fabulous. He hated the crap they sold over there. Who's bright idea was it to put a damn steak in soup in the first place? Not to mention the store clerk there who thought he was gay. God knows how much he wanted to strangle the crap out of him. Neku grudgingly admitted though that Shadow Ramen was one of the best things to digest during the game.

Mus Rattus was a complete 180 of what D+B was. The counter lady was kind and accommodating towards him. She seemed to like him,but at least she was able to hide it well enough.

Pavo Real, honestly he wasn't too fond of the shop. The merchandise was a bit too flashy for his tastes. Neku really didn't know the person handling the shop as he'd only set foot in the shop once out of pure curiosity. It didn't matter now cause he wouldn't be caught dead wearing pink nails or whatever.

AMX was another one of Neku's favorite shops. After he had befriended the store handler, he was sometimes given the deluxe edition of a CD for the price of the regular one. He was even given some recommendations on what new things to listen to. When that had happened, Neku actually cracked a small smile as a sign of thanks.

Neku wasn't really a fan of Pegaso threads, but Joshua was. He'd just sit in one ofthe expensive looking couches while Joshua chatted with the clerk about different suits and watches. Neku had tried to join in the conversation once, but after mentioning Jupiter of the Monkey and Wild Boar as one of his favorite shops, the clerk had snubbed him out of the conversation completely.

To sum it all up, Neku had become quite popular over the course of the game.

Neku snapped himself out of his thoughts as he heard his friends call him. Meeting them after a week would be nice. More than nice actually.

Neku grinned, running to them. "Wait up you guys!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own. (Lazy is as Lazy doesn't)  
>XXX<br>As Neku ran over to the meeting spot, he was able to make out the faces of a few of his friends and then some

Seeing Rhyme among them once more eased the burden off his shoulders by a considerable amount. He wouldn't admit it but, he'd always felt her untimely demise in the game was partially his fault. He had seen the truck rushing towards her, he just wasn't quick enough to even shout a warning.

In a second it had been over.

Death really was a fickle thing.

Neku shook his head to clear his head of those cryptic thoughts.

He hadn't seen his friends in over a week. Neku wouldn't let painful memories leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

This was the fruit of his hardwork, and he would he damned if he let anything ruin or take it away from.

XXX

Shiki gripped against her chest nervously.

Meeting her friends, new and old, had gone better than she had expected.

Beat and Rhyme didn't seem to mind her real appearance. At first, they hadn't recognized her, but one glance at the stuffed toy clutched against her chest had all but confirmed their suspicions.

Well, Rhyme's suspicions. Beat was a bit slower in the uptake.

Only after a rough interrogation, which she had passed, did Beat slap her on the back and greet her warmly.

Meeting Eri though, had been a bit more awkward. Her best friend had looked dead the first time she saw her after returning from the UG.

Apparently, she'd been extremely guilty over her "death". Her last words to her had been a bit harsh.

Telling someone to give up on their dreams was after all pretty painful to anyone on the receiving end of that command.

Shiki herself though-she would admit-was just as guilty. She had let the negative feelings build up instead of sitting down to talk with Eri and discuss her problems. That was what friends were for, right?

Instead she had embraced the negative emotions and acted on them. Now, any other person would have targeted their target of envy, not Shiki though. She was too kind for that.

Instead of hurting a precious friend- who coincidentally was in a way, the root of her problem- she took it out on herself.

She still didn't know what had happened.

Shiki wasn't sure if she had done it on her own free will or if it had been an honest accident on her part.

What mattered was that she had crossed the road at the wrong(?) time and had suffered the consequences for it. Her death.

Then she was sent to the UG.

One might argue that the memories that she had made there were the best she had made in her whole life. She would say that in a way, they were.

In that plane, she had made her first friends without the coaxing of Eri. They liked her for who she was, not for her looks, her figure (though she was still envious of Eri's assets), her beauty.

The first friend-no, maybe acquaintance at the time- was Neku.

She could honestly say that she hated him at first.

He always had those headphones jammed on top of his head. He was antisocial-To the extent that he even beat her in that category. Was a grump. And that damn "devil-may-care" attitude of his.

She thought at first that coexistence was impossible. He proved her wrong along the course of the week however.

He proved himself capable of kindness and concern when he had helped her accept herself for who she was.

He proved his determination to her when he had finished the Game three times just to set her free of the UG.

She flushed a lovely shade of pink at that thought. She used to read about knights in shining armor who would slay dragons and gladly lay done their lives for their beloved princesses.

She buried her face into Mr. Mew, hoping that the blush she sported would go away soon.

She squeaked as someone tapped her shoulder.

"S' that your friend? He's cute."

Her eyes widened as she saw who had spoken.

Eri had. Gosh, she hoped to God that she hadn't seen her daydream. She wiped the drool trailing down her cheek. No use in leaving evidence.

Speaking of Eri, it had been a bit awkward when Beat pulled Eri into a headlock, thinking her to be Shiki.

The red mark on his cheek was testament of his mistake.

Then what Eri had said registered in her head.

Her friend? Neku?

She looked in the direction her friend was lookin in.

Indeed it was Neku. He was running to them, an almost- but not quite- smile on his lips.

Battling the noise had done his body good, it seemed.

When She had first seen him, he was a skeletonf with skin. Now though, you could clearly see his toned skin. He want buff per se, but my God he looked hot.

She felt her knees tremble. It would be a miracle If she didn't faint on the spot.

XXX

Neku approached the gang.

He saw Beat, Rhyme, Eri(if he remembered correctly), and Shiki. Well, she was holding a Mr. Mew, and she had told him it was an original creation.

She was...cute.

Not overwhelmingly beautiful like Eri was, but cute in her own way.

Black hair cut at neck level, with glasses sitting upon her nose. She was very cute.

The only reason she had to doubt her appearance was because of her glasses, but even then, the problem could easily be solved with contacts.

Suddenly he felt someone familiar sling his arm over his shoulder and lean close to him. A bit too close for his liking.

"Hello dear, why'd you not inform me of this meeting? You know I enjoy these type of things."

Joshua.

Maybe they were sort-of-friends but no one got into his personal bubble.

Unfortunately for Neku, doing just that was what Joshua enjoyed doing.

"Hand. Off. Now." Neku growled.

Joshua giggled but complied to the request anyway.

"Heehee, scowling will leave lines and wrinkles on your face. Wouldn't want premature aging now would we? Not when you've got boyish good looks like that! No, that wouldn't do at all."

Neku sighed. Sometimes he just wondered...

Well, whatever.

"Hey guys!" Neku shouted

"Neku!"

"Yo phones!"

Each member of the group greeted him differently.

Rhyme hugged his side.

Beat waited for his sister to finish then proceeded to slap Neku hard on the back before bumping fists with him. Grinning all the while.

Shiki gave him a shy wave, clutching Mr. Mew (piggy) against her chest.

Shiki then proceeded to introduce him to Eri.

"Eri this is Neku, Neku this is Eri."

The red haired girl, err Eri, grabbed his hand then shook it reapeatedly.

"Hey, I'm Eri. Where'd you get those headphones? You're pretty cute, you free later for some lunch? I'll pay."

Neku hid his face under his collar to conceal the small blush that sprung up on his face. Girls were never his forte.

"Eri!" Shiki protested. She knew her friend was a flirt, but this was Neku!

"Hey, hey. Just teasing." the girl chuckled.

"My, my Neku. Aren't you the popular one." The Composer of Shibuya commented from behind him.

Joshua, wasn't met as warmly as Neku.

Beat shielded Rhyme and glared at him.

Shiki's fingers twitched, forgetting that Mr. Mew didn't respond to that anymore.

Even Eri looked at him suspiciously.

Neku didn't want the first meeting to end on a sour note. He had to defuse the situation, now.

"Guys, this is Joshua. Shiki, Beat and Rhyme know him already but I though I'd introduce him again cause you haven't seen each other in a while."

Now hopefully it worked.

"Howdy, name's Yoshiya Kiryu, but folks call me Joshua." Joshua said with his trademark I'm-so-much-better-than-you smirk. You're not gonna make any friends that way.

Oh God that stupid- clearly fake -southern accent was back. He thought he'd beaten it out of him on week 2...

Ice breaker, ice breaker. He wasn't used to this stuff! Anything to keep them civil... Lunch, there. Everyone might be hungry and, yeah.

All or nothing.

"Anyone up for Sunshine Burgers? My treat."

Beat, Rhyme, Shiki, Eri and Joshua didn't seem to object.

So Sunshine it was.

XXX

They were seated in the booth, eyeing Neku's napkin and drink.

Neku turned up the music in his headphones. He could care less if he was forced to find another a Fifenfrog. Anything but this..

The cashier had seen it fit to be their server as well.

And Shiki looked just about ready to slap her around. Eri's smile looked rather forced. Beat was patting him on the back, congratulating him on being a lucky guy.

At least Rhyme was the same, smiling brightly as always.

Joshua, who was seated beside him, was giving him that phony smile of his.

Conversation? Better start one.

"So Rhyme, how's school been going on for you?"

Rhyme brightened, then answered. "Ah, I'm at the top of my class, the same can't be said for Beat though. Our tutor sessions haven't been going as well as I thought they would."

Neku looked at Beat then Rhyme. "Seriously Beat, you're younger sister's teaching you?"

Beat looked offended. "Yo Yo man, it ain't my fault if my mama's brains went somewhere else. Papa says I got his good looks though!"

Joshua giggled "Obviously that's the case-"

Joshua was cut off as Neku elbowed him on the side.

"So Neku, judging from the way Shiki looks at you, she likes you doesn't she?" Eri said, giving him a sly smile.

Shiki waved her arms in front of her, a blush slowly creeping up her face.

"Eek, Eri! It i-isn't like that. He's just a really close friend of mine!" Shiki stammered.

Eri raised an eyebrow "Do you really think I'm that stupid? I wouldn't blame you though, he's quite the catch." Eri snuck a wink at him.

Neku tried to distract himself by doodling with a French fry as his stylus. He could've sworn things were going fine a few moments ago...

It was at that time that Beat struck up a conversation with Neku about different skateboards. It seemed even he had picked up on the situation.

The others took the hint as well because the three girls were gossiping in a way that only girls could.

Joshua kept to himself, texting away on his cellphone, before abruptly rising from his seat saying he had some business he needed to attend to.

The group gave half-hearted waves at his retreating form before standing up themselves to leave the establishment.

Neku wasn't completely oblivious to the words the store clerk was mouthing to him either.

XXX

At about 5 PM, the group greeted each other farewell, promising to meet up again at another time, which was odd since they'd be seeing more of each other in school.

Oh right, school.

Whoever invented that, well screw him to the deepest pits of hell. And stick lollipop's lollipop up his cram hole for good measure.

He was pretty sure that anything worthwhile that school might've taught him was washed away after spending three weeks with more pressing matters at hand.

His average 80-ish scores would probably drop to a Beat level 69, heh, 69. That's a funny number.

Not to mention, he'd have to explain his disappearance.

The gang could probably manage with letters from their parents, but not him.

His parents were gone. Not that he minded. He never knew them in the first place so why bother? At least they'd left him an apartment, and his headphones. The headphones were definitely what he was more thankful for.

Maybe Joshua could coax Mr. Hanekoma to act as his legal guardian... That would be cool.

CAT as his guardian. Screw it; That was awesome!

But first he'd have to find Joshua.

Well, Shibuya River, here we go...

XXX

(A/N)

A cliffhanger of sorts. I'm not really inclined to apologize for the long wait...

As if anybody actually reads this stuff in the first place.

Anyway, this chapter might not be well received as there are some plot inconsistencies if compared to the first chapter. Hopefully by the time I post this I've replaced the first chap, but that's not likely with the sheer amount of projects I've got to accomplish.

One of which is TWGCC which is at 6% completion at the moment. Blame it on Tvtropes.

The reason for this chapter's randomness-aside from spontaneous writing- is listening to Matryoshka while writing.


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